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An essential industry
22AN
1 ANESSENTIAL
ESSENTIALINDUSTRY
INDUSTRY WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? AN ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY 2
Quarry products can only be dug where nature has placed them. This means that most Pre-Application Discussions Consultations if relevant
Countryside
Government
of our quarries are located in the countryside where pressures on development are Bodies
Agency,
MAFF etc
Discussion/
Restoration Local Yes
intense. A balance has to be struck between our need for raw materials and the necessity Aftercare Residents
Full Mineral Council
Draft Local Planning Planning
Plan Authority Planning
to protect all that is best about our environment. The quarrying industry is pursuing ever Negotiation:
Application Authority
Highways Meeting
Purchase/ Environment Authority No
Agency etc (if
higher performance standards and works closely with government at all levels and with THE
Lease
Environment
Ecologists, necessary)
THE
Applicant
Archaeologists
SITE Agency etc etc QUARRY
others to try to achieve that balance.
Neighbour
Local Notification/ Press
Residents Posters on
Site
Publicity
There are two main types of aggregates in Britain. A line drawn roughly Land aggregates
Aggregates are plentiful in most parts of the
from The Wash to Portland Bill would separate the two - sand and UK. Local resources can, therefore, often satisfy
local needs. Aggregates are only transported
gravel to the south and crushed rock plus limited sand and gravel long distances when it is absolutely necessary
outcrops to the north. Land-based quarries satisfy some 76 per cent of because the cost can double for each 30 miles
travelled and the environmental consequences
the nation’s needs, and marine aggregates provide five per cent. of heavy lorries increase. Yorkshire
& Humberside
North
Recycled and secondary aggregates are of growing importance and now As with many raw materials, resources are not
West
Crushed rock
Rock quarries have long lives and the way they
are worked means that progressive restoration
opportunities are more limited than those for
sand and gravel. However, modern techniques
allow faces to be restored by planting trees,
shrubs and grass when quarrying has been
completed.
Sand and gravel Marine aggregates The challenges that go with recycled and
Sand and gravel derives from the erosion of At a time when land-based quarrying is under secondary aggregates are fourfold:
particles that were transported and deposited increasing environmental pressure, aggregates
by water or ice. from the sea are an additional resource that is • environmental - the recovery, processing
growing in importance. Government policy is and transport of recycled materials have some
These quarries are usually shallow, sometimes that at least seven per cent of the UK’s similar environmental impacts as those for
only five or six metres deep. Operations are aggregates needs should come from the sea- primary aggregates. The right environmental
likely to be shorter term than for a rock quarry bed. Some 72 per cent of marine aggregates balance of supply has to be struck
and, with progressive restoration normally are used in the UK while 28 per cent goes to
following closely behind extraction, the mainland Europe. • technical - quality constraints have to be
working area can be comparatively small. Recycled and secondary aggregates considered. Concerns about product quality
Direct delivery of marine aggregates to rail- Recycled and secondary aggregates are making and an absence of adequate technical
linked wharves on the Thames effectively an increasingly important contribution to the specifications have inhibited wider use of
removes the equivalent of 50,000 lorry loads UK’s needs. By reducing unnecessary demand recycled materials in some cases
Shares of Aggregate Supply for
from the streets of London every year. on primary aggregates, they are helping the
Great Britain (2000 est)
industry to become more sustainable. Current • economic - recycling isn’t always cheaper.
6% 18%
Licensed areas for dredging account for less use of recycled and secondary aggregates is Transport costs, for example, can make
SAND & GRAVEL RECYCLED than one per cent of the seabed around the estimated to be 45 to 50 million tonnes per recycled aggregates expensive in areas where
(MARINE DREDGED)
UK - and some 90 per cent of all material is annum. they do not occur
sourced from just 21 square kilometres.
Recycled aggregates are produced from • supply- only a finite amount of material is
The industry accepts its responsibility to demolition and construction waste. Secondary available to recycle. In urban areas, for
operate with care and concern for other users aggregates include a range of industrial by- example, the use of demolition waste is a
of the sea and in particular for our coastline, products and wastes such as colliery spoil, well-established process
beaches and marine ecology. Operators believe china clay waste, slate waste, power station
this challenge should be approached as a ash, blastfurnace slag and even green glass
partnership with all the other parties involved that is not commercially recyclable. The most
27% 49%
SAND & GRAVEL CRUSHED ROCK and have instigated a voluntary initiative widely available and widely used resource from
(LAND BASED)
designed to restrict dredging to the level this sector is construction and demolition
necessary to meet society’s needs. waste.
How a rock quarry works years and are developed in distinct ‘benches’
or steps. A controlled explosion is normally
Quarries are important rural employers and
offer a range of interesting job opportunities -
through other internal and external training
schemes, an increasing number of employees
are achieving national vocational
used to release the rock from the working from operating massive and expensive
face. It is then transported by truck or machinery at the quarry face, to managing an qualifications. Health, safety and
conveyor to a crusher to go through a series of entire site, or to providing specialist service environmental considerations feature strongly
crushing and screening stages to produce a advice. Quarry companies take their training in training agendas across the length and
range of final sizes to suit customers' needs. responsibilities seriously and work closely with breadth of the country as these issues are of
EPIC, the national training organisation for the paramount importance for business success.
4 Haul roads 6 Stockpiles Larger rock together with 11 Landscaping and restoration
soils and clays are While the quarry continues to be worked deeper, its
Safety is paramount on
separated at this stage. impact is being reduced by progressive restoration of the
the quarry haul roads, the
The rock may be used for upper faces and by planting on the benches that have
edges of which are
the base layer in roads been completed. Soils have also been used to create a
protected by substantial
while soils and clays, screening mound that breaks distant views into the
barriers.
known as ‘scalpings’, are quarry. The site offers a range of important wildlife and
required for bulk fill. plant habitats.
1 Drilling 8 Storage
Soils are removed and This quarry has both
stored for use in storage silos and covered
landscaping and storage bays. The stone is
restoration. A drilling rig stored in a range of sizes:
then drills a series of 40mm, 28mm, 20mm,
strategically-located and 14mm, 10mm, 6mm and
angled holes in the dust. It is drawn from
underlying rock. here for a variety of end
uses.
2 Blasting
An experienced and
licensed shot-firer
charges each hole with
just sufficient explosive
to break the rock and to
drop it into a neat pile. In
the quarry shown,
blasting takes place twice
a week, releasing about
15,000 tonnes on each
occasion. 9 Dry stone loading
Lorries use pre-programmed ’smart cards’ to load
3 Loading and automatically. Dry stone is generally delivered over a 30-
mile radius. Some large quarries also have rail
transport
connections for longer distance deliveries, so reducing
A powerful excavator the impact of lorries on the roads.
loads the rock into 65-
tonne quarry dumper
trucks for delivery to the
primary crusher.
9 HOW A ROCK QUARRY WORKS WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? HOW A ROCK QUARRY WORKS 10
Sand and gravel quarries are much shallower The majority of
How a sand & gravel than rock quarries and are usually worked and
restored in progressive phases. This means that
marine extraction
involves ‘trailer’
Marine aggregates
the area exposed for quarrying at any time can dredging.
Extraction area
The area actually being quarried at any time is
minimised by ensuring that restoration runs hand-in-
hand with extraction. Quarries like the one in our main
Hopper and field conveyor photograph are pumped to allow them to be worked
In the quarry shown, raw material is loaded into a ‘dry’. Others, like the one shown left, are operated as
hopper that feeds it onto conveyors for transport to the lakes with the aggregate extracted from below water.
processing plant. Other quarries may transport the
material by lorry.
11 HOW A SAND & GRAVEL QUARRY WORKS WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? HOW A SAND & GRAVEL QUARRY WORKS 12
Quarry products
Restoring quarried land is one of Sand and gravel Restoration Tree planting
The majority of sand and gravel quarries Awards Scheme Through its landscaping and restoration
the great skills of the industry. have been returned to agriculture and there which, over programmes the quarrying industry is probably
is increasing awareness of the contribution more than 30 the UK’s biggest planter of new trees. Over the
Extraction of minerals is a restored sites can make to wildlife habitats years, has rewarded last 10 years, Quarry Products Association
temporary land use which may and to promote biodiversity. The progressive excellence at some 400 sites. members have planted many millions of trees
nature of this type of quarrying means that and shrubs.
last no longer than 10 years for restoration can follow closely behind Rock quarrying
extraction so the land can be returned to Rock quarries offer a very different restoration
sand and gravel, and perhaps 30 farming in a matter of months. challenge. Usually much deeper than their
sand and gravel counterparts and involving
years or more for a typical rock
Careful stripping, storage and handling of soils progressively deeper working of the same
quarry. Restoration is usually is fundamental. Working of the site will always limited area, opportunities for progressive
be against the background of a restoration restoration are more limited.
phased through the life of a site scheme agreed at the outset.
Modern techniques do, however, mean that
and may involve a return to the
the upper ‘benches’ can be treated and
previous use. Alternatively, it may planted as they are completed. While the final
quarry floor can often be successfully returned Biodiversity
offer a once-only opportunity for to agriculture, such sites have much to offer The quarrying industry’s compatibility with
for forestry, nature conservation, water-based nature is not always appreciated. A survey has
change to a new use that
leisure and country parks. identified that more than 100 Sites of Special
benefits wildlife and the Scientific Interest (SSSIs) have been created by
QPA members. English Nature has estimated
community. The industry is, that some 700 SSSIs owe their origins to the
minerals industry. Partnerships with
therefore, constantly recycling conservation bodies, local government and
land, a resource that is in reality communities are fundamental. The industry is
Restoration achievements by Britain’s sand and
playing an important role in helping to achieve
gravel quarries are some of the finest in the
only borrowed - and is usually the government’s biodiversity targets and the
world. Often, the industry leaves no mark at all
Quarry Products Association has signed a
returned with interest! - restored farmland may well be of a higher
landmark joint statement of intent with
quality than that which existed previously.
English Nature and the Silica and Moulding
More spectacularly, the industry has given us
Sands Association designed to encourage
Thorpe Park in Surrey, the Holme Pierrepont
environmentally sustainable development.
national watersports centre near Nottingham
and the Cotswold Water Park. It has also
created numerous wildlife reserves, golf
courses, sports pitches and much more. These
and many other sites have featured in the
Quarry Products Association’s annual
Providing Essential
Materials for Britain